Irvine teen nabs perfect SAT score

Hope Xu, a student at University High, scored a perfect 2400 on her SATs. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hope Xu's mother, Lan Zhou, shows off the University High sweatshirt her daughter designed. The logo celebrates the school's 40th anniversary this year. SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hope Xu's mother, Lan Zhou, holds her daughter's SAT score report. The 16-year-old junior at University High School in Irvine received the highest possible score on the Oct. 10 exam -- 800 on critical reading, 800 on math and 800 on writing. SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hope Xu, a student at University High, honed her SAT skills during a prep class before achieving her perfect score. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hope Xu, a student at University High, scored a perfect 2400 on her SATs. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Perfect SAT scores are rare -- but the phenomenon does occur almost annually for a few students in Orange County. Stephanie Cheng, who attends Dana Hills High School and took the Elite Educational Institute SAT prep course with Xu, also received a perfect SAT score this year.

SAT officials do not release names of students who earn perfect scores. If you know of anyone who got a perfect score, contact education reporter Scott Martindale at smartindale@ocregister.com.

IRVINE – At first, Hope Xu thought her SAT score was a mistake.

Maybe the exam administrators hadn't applied the curve yet. Maybe she wasn't reading her score report correctly. Maybe her less-than-perfect raw score on the essay portion of the SAT – 9 out of 12 – hadn't been factored into her curved, final score.

"The computer screen said, '800, 800, 800.' I said, 'Where's my score? It's out of 800,'" said Xu, 16, a junior at Irvine's University High School. "I probably sat there for about 40 seconds, and then I said, 'Wake up.' In my head, I was thinking, what should I do? Should I get up and dance? Should I cry? Usually, when stressful moments come up, I don't react."

Xu had woken up at 4:10 in the morning to check her SAT score online. She didn't get any more sleep that night.

The Irvine resident scored a perfect 2400 on the college admissions test, placing her in an extraordinarily elite group of students nationwide.

Less than 0.02 percent of high school seniors who took the exam last year achieved a perfect score – that is, just 297 students out of 1.5 million. Data for Xu's year won't be released until 2012.

Xu said she missed one question on the critical reading section – she doesn't know which one – and scored a 9 out of 12 on the written essay portion. When the curve was applied, she ended up with a perfect 2400.

The curve is intended to correct for slight differences in difficulty among the various administrations of the exam, according to the New York-based College Board, which administers the SAT.

"I just got lucky," the modest teen said. "I don't prioritize the SAT that high. I personally value achievements like winning first place at a competition or getting high grades for consecutive days in a row. I like consistent hard work more than good fortunes."

That's not to say, however, she didn't study hard for the SAT. She poured hundreds of hours into preparing for the exam, including taking a 10-week prep course that ended just before she took the test Oct. 10.

During her prep course – offered through fee-based Elite Educational Institute in Irvine – Xu sat through 12 full-length practice tests and spent about 10 hours at home every week completing all of the suggested review materials.

Her diagnostic score on her initial Elite practice exam was 2060, she said, although she achieved as high as 2380 on one of the practice tests. Elite's practice tests are designed to be harder than the real exam, she explained.

It wasn't until the actual exam, though, that she finally earned a perfect score.

"I did try really hard to do really well," Xu said. "I'm pretty competitive. I kind of treated it like a game – let's see how well I can do this week."

Xu grew up in an academically rigorous, if not strict, home environment. She wasn't allowed to watch TV growing up, and her parents installed filters on the Internet at home to block sites such as YouTube and instant-messaging programs. When she got a cell phone in middle school, her parents disabled text messaging.

All of these same restrictions remain in place today, she said. Except she doesn't mind anymore.

"Now that I'm older, I don't want to watch TV," Xu said. "We have a really nice TV, but we don't use it. I don't even have a cell phone anymore. My parents gave it to my grandparents."

Xu says she's been a prolific reader from a very young age, and she also dabbles in photography, art, poetry and fiction writing.

"I think she is gifted in many, many ways," said her mother, Lan Zhou, a civil engineer. "She writes so many short stories, some up to 200 pages. She's not just another brilliant kid. It's discipline, hard work."

Among her many accomplishments, Xu designed the logo for University High's official school sweatshirt this year, plays clarinet in marching band and wind ensemble, and competes in the science fair. Just last week, she was one of 26 students nationwide to be recognized by the Cerritos-based Center for Future Global Leaders for demonstrating mastery of challenging vocabulary words.

Even with her perfect SAT score, Xu also plans to take the ACT, an alternate college admissions test accepted or required by some colleges.

Q. You learned you got a perfect SAT score Oct. 29 by looking online. Set the scene for us.

A. The night before, all of my friends on Facebook were saying, "SAT scores are coming tomorrow." I went to bed that night and had a dream that I got a 2000. I was pretty disappointed. My mom said, "Oh man, I guess you have to take it over again." I woke up at 4:10 in the morning. My dad had gotten up even earlier to check my score and left the screen up, so I just jiggled the mouse and saw it. I walked over to my mom's room and she was waiting for me.

Q. To what do you attribute your high score?

A. If you read when you were little, that helps you on the SAT. If you didn't, you're screwed, to put it bluntly. When I was in third and fourth grade, I was kind of a recluse. I would just read all throughout math class with a book in my lap, and figure out the lesson on my own. I thought I was so clever, but the teacher knew what I was doing. They finally forced me to stop. I can't encourage kids to read instead of paying attention in class.

Q. How did you decide to take the SAT at the beginning of your junior year?

A. Most of my teachers say to take it in spring, but I did it now because I learned all the material over the summer and I wasn't going to take the program again. Elite designed the program to push you until the very last minute. You try to take advantage of it as much as possible. I want to take the SAT II (subject tests) in the spring.

Q. You took the SAT for the first time in the eighth grade and scored 1880. How'd you come to take it?

A. One day, my mom gave me two pencils, an eraser, a bottle of water and a candy bar, drove me to Costa Mesa, and said, "Oh, you're going to take a fun test, just to see where you are." I wasn't really listening to her. She just wanted me to know what it was like. It was the real SAT, but it doesn't count if you take it in eighth grade. It was long and boring – three hours, 45 minutes. When I got my score, I got 1880, even though I slept for most of the math section. I said, "Oh my goodness, I have some work to do." I kind of freaked out. I thought I was stupid.

Q. You go to one of the most academically competitive schools in Orange County. Do you feel pressure to perform?

A. I do feel competition with other students. I usually feel really underachieved compared to my friends. They take so many extracurriculars. I do science fair, but I can't do most of the things they do after school, because all of my after-school time is devoted to marching band.

Q. Describe your typical weekday afternoon and evening.

A. I spend most of my free time in marching band. That's also my time to socialize with my friends. I usually go to bed at midnight. I spend the entire night doing homework.

Q. Describe how your memory works.

A. I have a really good short-term memory. For a test, if I flip through a page of facts and numbers five or 10 minutes before a test, I can usually remember them long enough to finish the test. I usually don't cram, though. If there's a small portion that I didn't study for, then I can go through it during snack (period).

Q. You're volunteering in the medical surgery ward at Kaiser Permanente in Irvine. What interests you about a career in medicine, and surgery in particular?

A. I'm not the squeamish type. My mom says I'm good with my hands. I like studying human health and bodies. I think it's one of the more universal occupations. If there were no doctors, everyone would be dead. There would be no other jobs if we were all dead.

Q. What advice do you have for doing well on the SAT?

A. If you're still younger, read while you're still young. I have no time now. You should also challenge yourself and worry less about how other people are doing. When I studied, as I started getting questions right, instead of giving myself 20 minutes, I'd made myself finish in 15 minutes. I also think you have to remember, it's just a test. It's not the end of your world.

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